My exposure therapy journey – month three update!
OK so I've been doing this for three months now and I genuinely can't believe the difference. I used to have full-blown panic attacks in supermarkets. Like, abandon-the-trolley-and-leave level panic. My therapist and I built an exposure ladder starting with just sitting in the car park for five minutes.
Month one was brutal honestly. I cried a lot. But I kept showing up. Month two something shifted – I could walk the aisles with headphones in and manage. And now? I did a full weekly shop yesterday. On my own. On a Saturday.
I'm not saying exposure therapy is easy. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. But if you're on the fence about starting, I want you to know that the other side exists. You won't believe it until you're there, but it does.
Happy to answer questions if anyone wants to know more about how the hierarchy works in practice!
Comments (11)
This is a textbook example of graded exposure in practice, and I am genuinely delighted to see the progress. The exposure hierarchy – starting with the car park and gradually building – is exactly the approach that decades of research supports. Well done for persisting through that difficult first month.
this gives me hope. i'm not at the supermarket stage but i've been avoiding smaller things. if you can do a saturday shop after panic attacks, maybe there's hope for the rest of us.
how did you handle the headphones thing? like what did you listen to? i've tried music but it sometimes makes things worse.
you said you're happy to answer questions – how does the hierarchy actually work? who decides what goes on it?
shared this with my therapist. she said it's a great example. thanks for being so open about it.
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Practical tools for managing anxiety – grounding techniques, exposure planning, breathing exercises, and honest 'what worked for me' discussions. A space to share strategies that translate from theory into real life.